Category Archive : Area Living

LAS VEGAS, NV – The Las Vegas real estate scene has been on an upward trajectory ever since the recovery of the recession, and the apartment scene has been no exception. With more and more businesses calling Vegas home as the economy has improved rapidly, more and more people have been picking up and moving there in search of job opportunities, and apartments offering a fast and less expensive alternative to houses for single people or new families just starting out.

Until recently, given the rapid growth of Vegas real estate, housing prices – including apartments – have been steadily on the rise, igniting affordability concerns in many; however, according to the Nevada State Apartment Association, Vegas apartment rents, while still rising, are nonetheless doing so more slowly than in recent months and years past.

Based on reports, the average rent in Las Vegas towards the end of 2019 was $1,080 per month, which represents a 4.5 percent increase over the same period one year prior; in contrast, the rent growth from 2018 to 2017 was 7.4 percent. In addition, late 2019 saw an apartment vacancy rate of 6.5 percent, a drop of .3 percent from 2018 and an increase of 11 percent from the depths of the recession era.

Clearly, according to these figures, apartment vacancy rates are declining, and rents are increasing, albeit more slowly than in recent years. Part of the slowing in rent increases can be attributed to the current market inventory; responding to demand, with developers constructing more apartments, with over 12,000 going up in early 2015, and over 2,100 built in 2019. Additionally, reports note that the new 3,800 are slated to go up in 2020, with many of them to be located near the famed Las Vegas Strip, as well as along the I-215 Beltway adjacent to Henderson, Summerlin and the southwest valley.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to recent reports, 2020 in Las Vegas is expected to be the year of the condominium, as the affordable housing alternative – often replete with numerous amenities that stand-alone house owners aren’t privy to – are showing a distinct increase in popularity.

The reasons condos are attracting so much attention from buyers recently are numerous; many people prefer the security that living in such a community often affords its residents, whereas others also enjoy the different amenities – such as fitness facilities, gaming clubhouses, and swimming pools – that are typically available to residents.

And the fact that condos are, on average, cheaper than full-on home ownership in a real estate marketplace with steadily climbing prices is an attractive feature as well, allowing owners to be able to swing the cost of living in an affluent community that they might otherwise not be able to afford.

Some condos run from the $200,000s to $300,000 range for one- and two-bedroom condominium flats and three-bedroom loft-style town homes, ranging from 1,058 square feet to 2,500 square feet. In contrast, the median price in Las Vegas for a single-family home in December 2019 was just under $313,000, and those homes do not come with the additional benefits provided by living in a condo community, including the aforementioned security, amenities, and other extras, such as landscaping, underground parking, and more. Many condo communities are also situated near major shopping and entertainment complexes, or sometimes even feature their own exclusive shopping facilities for residents to use.

With the prices of the Las Vegas housing market still climbing since the end of the recession (although prices are starting to slow and stabilize as available inventory increases), more and more people it seems are turning to condominiums for their housing needs, and as a result more developers are constructing additional condo units in order to satisfy that need.

Indeed, while the Las Vegas housing market as a whole remains one of the most prosperous in the nation, 2002 is expected to see condos come to greater prominence than they have in many years.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The City of Las Vegas recently announced plans to construct a new $20 million resource center starting this summer, with a significant part of the project to include permanent housing for the city’s growing homeless population. 

The project, located in the so-called Corridor of Hope – also known as “homeless corridor” – at 314 Foremaster Lane, will see the old buildings there demolished and new ones erected; the project, from beginning to end, is expected to take approximately 18 months, reports say. The new development that will be constructed at that location has been dubbed the “Courtyard Homeless Resource Center.”

The property has already been home to numerous resources for homeless people since 2017, but the final plans call for several buildings to be built on the site, including an 800-person shelter, a guest services building, laundry services, medical and mental health facilities, and more. Additional space on the property will be able to accommodate an additional 500 people, reports say.

The announcement comes in close timing to the November 2019 roll-out of a new city ordinance that essentially makes it illegal to sleep in public places. People are allowed to sleep on the streets when public shelters are unavailable, but will otherwise be subject to possible arrest and jail time if caught doing so. Full roll-out of the ordinance is expected to take place by February 1, 2020.

The Courtyard Homeless Resource Center will provide numerous services aimed at not only giving homeless people a place to eat, sleep, and clean up, but also instilling them with what they need to get a foothold in civilized society once again and get themselves back on their feet. Amenities such as a mailing address that residents can use on job applications, a place to do laundry, and other various forms of assistance are all geared toward the disenfranchised in Las Vegas.

The Courtyard Homeless Resource Center will be paid for in-part by the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas Life.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to a recent interview with a noted real estate professional, the Las Vegas housing market – booming in recent years after laying in dormancy for over a decade – will continue to be fueled going into 2020 and beyond by a number of factors, not the least of which is how the region’s low home inventory will only help to increase overall demand.

The population of Las Vegas is increasing by as much as 50,000-60,000 people annually; that factor, combined with new home construction not keeping pace with demand, has resulted in shortages, especially in price ranges considered affordable to the average working Joe. In contrast, unlike the housing market, rental construction has been keeping pace with demand, resulting in more stabilized pricing.

Homes in Las Vegas at the $350,000 price range are attracting buyers in particular, given the fact that – due to steadily rising prices overall – homes at this price are becoming more and more rare. In recent years, skyrocketing prices of homes in Vegas have begun to raise affordability concerns, as previously Southern Nevada had been lauded for its low cost of living.

While still far more affordable when compared to the national average and especially neighboring states such as California, the cost of a median single-family home in Vegas has been getting to the point where it could potentially become an issue if prices maintain on this path. The $350,000 price range has become the magic bullet, so to speak, offering a balance between profit for sellers and affordability for buyers, especially for new transplants to the regions who have been lured there by job prospects born out of the newly-blossoming economy. In addition, loans for buyers – complete with low interest rates – are widely obtainable in Vegas, although the qualification process is said to be stringent due to the high rate of applicants. Thus, ultimately, getting a house at an affordable price in Las Vegas is a combination of patience and vigilance, in addition to being ready.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to recent reports, the recent influx of high-profile professional sporting teams to Las Vegas – including the Raiders NFL team in 2020 – has created a unique atmosphere in the region for real estate salespeople; the idea of wealthy athletes looking to transplant themselves into their new home town, and looking to do it in (expensive) style, can make for good career ideas.

Realtors have been looking forward to the very real possibility of high-paid members of numerous sporting teams seeking to purchase multi-million-dollar homes in the Las Vegas area, even going so far as attending recent seminars giving insight on dealing with athletes and their unique – and at times, difficult – housing needs.

While some athletes are looking to spend millions of dollars on a fancy home, others – who may not have many years left on their contracts or are not as high-paid as others – are looking for something a bit easier to do away with once their time in Southern Nevada is up.

Nonetheless, the recent exodus of high-profile sports teams to Vegas has the potential to make Realtors serious money; reports indicate that with the Raiders taking up permanent residence in Vegas come their 2020 season, demand from players – already used to jet-setting lifestyles – for luxury homes and condos in proximity to the famed Las Vegas Strip will be high. Even the lowest-paid NFL player makes the league minimum of $500,000, so there will likely be money to burn on the part of the Raiders players once they arrive.

In addition, with the ongoing construction of the team’s corporate headquarters and practice facility in Henderson, the entire Raiders management and support staff will be making the move to Vegas as well, opening up even more high-cost housing needs that Realtors will need to satisfy. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, coach Jon Gruden, and president Marc Badain, have all already purchased homes near the team’s Henderson practice facility, and more are sure to come in the months ahead.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – October 2019 home sales in Las Vegas ended up being one of the most successful months since the mid-2000’s, thanks in-part to a series of closings on very pricey homes in the region. That trend, according to recent reports, is expected to carry over into the rapidly-approaching new year, maybe even further.

While this is a good sign for those investing in Vegas real estate, it is also causing people to revisit the issues surrounding cost-of-living in Las Vegas and concerns of maintaining Southern Nevada’s well-known “affordability,” a condition that many feel was recently threatened by the ever-climbing home and rental prices that have been showing signs of stabilizing in the marketplace. 

Further, reports have indicated that prices of existing Las Vegas homes that have sold in 2019 have increased by only 2.6 percent; however, prices are expected to increase to much higher levels come 2020 and 2021, according to a University of Nevada, Las Vegas economist – a prediction which runs in direct opposition to speculation that prices in Las Vegas were on the verge of lowering as developers construct more housing options due to the high demand.

When it comes to sales of newly-constructed homes in Vegas, 932 of them were purchased in October 2019, which represents an increase of 34 percent over the same period in 2018, when 695 new homes were sold. Final numbers aren’t in for November 2019 yet, but sales that month appear to potentially be just as brisk.

Currently, the median price of new single-family homes that sold in October 2019 was $410,414; however, 30 homes among those sold were priced at $1 million or higher, which likely drove the median price upwards. In addition, approximately 28 percent of homes sold in October ranged between $500,000 and $1 million. Meanwhile, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,190.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Minnesota-based Life Time, which runs a chain of luxury health and gym facilities, acquired Las Vegas’ Sullivan Square site in November 2019; according to reports there are potential plans in the works to transform the abandoned property into apartments, offices, and a gym.

Sullivan Square was originally purchased in the mid-2000’s with plans to transform it into a site for a Manhattan-style series of skyscrapers, but due to numerous factors – up to and including the recession – the plans never materialized, and the plot of land has sat in a state of disuse ever since, giving mute testament to the real estate crash that held Las Vegas in its grip for nearly a decade before only recently recovering in spectacular fashion.

Life Time has not officially announced plans for the Sullivan Square property, located across from Ikea at the southeast corner of Durango Drive and Sunset Road, however, reports indicate that Life Time plans to install one of their trademark luxury health and gym facilities at the location, in addition to a possible high-end apartment complex and office space for businesses. Retail options were not mentioned in the report, but should probably not be ruled out until concrete plans are revealed.

Originally, in the mid-2000’s, Sullivan Square was intended to be comprised of mixed-use space that would encompass apartments boasting nearly 1,400 residential units; 45,000 square feet of retail space; and 272,000 square feet of office space. However, the recession, combined with a series of lawsuits, resulted in the project never getting off the ground.

New construction of residential high-rise buildings are rare in the Las Vegas region in recent years, due in part to how expensive it is to both build and maintain such a facility. But the developers in this case must see the positive economic growth in Southern Nevada recently as a sign that high-rises may once again present the potential for profit in the years to come.

Photo via Loopnet & The Hoffman Company: Sunset & Durango; Las Vegas, NV 89113 · 14.89 AC · Land For Sale http://www.hoffmanland.com

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to reports, The Boring Co. – the tunneling company owned by Elon Musk – officially began construction on Nov. 15 on a tunnel that will house an elaborate “people mover” train system at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

A people mover is a type of small scale automated guide-way transit system. While many people movers transport passengers from airports, downtown districts or theme parks to other destinations, the one that the Boring Co. is developing for the Convention Center – a dual-tunnel people mover – would be more limited in scope, solely dedicated to servicing event attendees only.

The people mover is being constructed in partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and is slated to be completed in January 2021, which would coincide with the Consumer Electronics Show, held annually at the Convention Center. The Boring Co. won a $52.5 million contract bid for the project in May, which is the company’s first major underground tunneling project.

In addition to the tunnel, additional work located above-ground – including stations and stops – began in October.

Previous work at the site of the people-mover has consisted of delivering and assembling parts that make it ready in time for the project’s start date. As the Boring Co. will be doing exactly what their name implies – boring into the earth – the timeline of the project may experience adjustments on the fly based on what types of potential deposits and/or obstructions they encounter as they make their way through their designated boring path.

The Las Vegas Convention Center has been expanding recently, with the final result encompassing two miles from end to end. The addition of the people mover is expected to make negotiating the vast complex far more manageable for the estimated million people who visit the site on an annual basis, once work is completed of course.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to reports, construction on a new upscale apartment complex is currently underway adjacent to the Wyndham Desert Blue timeshare tower located west of the famed Las Vegas Strip.

The project, currently without an official name and headed up by developer Fore Property Co., is taking the form of building 287 luxury apartments, with the first grouping of units being made available for rent by December 2020; the project as a whole is expected to be completed in April 2021, reports say.

The project – the first apartment complex being constructed in close proximity to the La Vegas Strip in 25 years – is slated to offer a number of posh amenities for tenants, including a dog park, sky lounge, and a yoga studio, among others. The facility closeness to the Strip will offer tenants easy access to local attractions, entertainment, and employment, which will most likely make the complex very attractive to prospective tenants.

However, such accommodations may put a dent in your wallet; according to Fore Property Co., rents are expected to range from $1,400 to approximately $3,000 per month. However, similarly-priced units at other apartment complexes built in the Las Vegas region by Fore have been snapped up by tenants in the past, illustrating the desire for high-class accommodations by select members of the public.

In recent years, in order to meet demand for housing options in light of the rapidly-expanding population of Las Vegas due to the economic upturn – developers have been constructing apartment complexes in areas previously having few. Examples include Fremont9 in Vegas’ downtown and the currently in development shareDOWNTOWN in the Arts District. In addition, Fore has noted their interest in another potential apartment complex in Chinatown.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – In a recent opinion piece published by Edward Kania, the Southern Nevada Eviction Services president argued that recent new laws governing the Nevada eviction process are ultimately unfair to landlords, placing undue stress and hardship upon them in the event that a tenant fails to pay their rent or live up to the responsibilities of their lease. While opinions are very much divided on this issue, Kania made several points that served to illustrate how landlords are set to be affected – in a negative way – by this new law.

The law Kania refers to is Senate Bill 151, which kicked in on July 1, 2019; the law increases protections for those renting properties by granting more time to tenants before they are able to be evicted by landlords for lack of payment on their rent, as well as capping late fees at five percent for delinquent rent payments. In addition, more time is granted to tenants to pay their overdue rent – seven business days, as opposed to the previous five – to avoid eviction. Evicted tenants are also allowed to re-enter their former dwelling for up to five days to retrieve “essential” belongings they may have left behind.

Kania notes that the new law essentially portrays landlords as “villains” simply for expecting to have their lease agreements complied with and their rent paid in a timely manner – something the tenant agreed to do upon moving into the unit, he said.

The new – and some would argue, excessive – leeway that tenants receive under the Bill essentially forces landlords into an unfair position, Kania said.

Landlords are not tenants’ parents,” he said. “They are not their means of support nor spouse nor friend nor charity. Neither Target nor supermarkets are required to provide free services. Why, then, are landlords?”

Kania also argues that tenants are automatically guaranteed a hearing after they receive a notice regarding delinquent rent, even if they have no defense whatsoever for not paying. With all of the tenant safeguards now available, often an individual can delay eviction for weeks or even months; all the while, the landlord – who is only trying to pay their bills – is the one experiencing the financial strain of that situation in the form of unpaid rent, not the tenant.

“New eviction laws…make the eviction process harder for landlords and easier for tenants,” Kania concluded. “These new laws help renters who don’t comply with their leases, but will likely lead to higher rents and security deposits, shorter rent due dates and higher mandatory credit score levels for everyone else.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Town houses have reached their highest level of construction in the Las Vegas area since the burst of the Mid-2000’s housing bubble, and that trend looks to continue into the foreseeable future, according to reports.

By the end of August of 2019, there were 974 town home closings in the Southern Nevada region, which accounts for 14 percent of all home closings so far in 2019. This represents a whopping 16 percent jump over the same period one year prior, when that number of closings came in at 840; that time town homes made up 12 percent of closings. 

Despite that upward trend, town homes have yet to reach their pre-recession marketplace peak of 16 percent. However, their continued growth is encouraging, as they have bounced back from a drastic and record low of 1 percent in 2012. Growth since then has been encouraged by legislation passed in 2015 by Nevada State that served to make the legal processes surrounding repairs and litigation involving town home construction more streamlined.

Town homes are attractive to many buyers due to affordability concerns, as increases in land prices from the recent real estate boom in Las Vegas making single-family home ownership more and more expensive (although still far less so in comparison than in many other regions of the United States). The ability to fit more homes – town houses typically consist of attached homes, often one with a small footprint on multiple floors – within the confines of a smaller plot of land enabling developers to keep prices lower per unit than many comparable single-family homes.

Town houses also represent an attractive stop-gap measure to those currently renting who are looking for an alternative means of home ownership – such as young people or the elderly – that combines affordability and cost stability.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Cherry Developments, owned by developer Sam Cherry, announced this week that a new apartment complex – dubbed ‘shareDOWNTOWN’ – will soon be constructed in downtown Las Vegas, located at Casino Center Drive and Colorado, according to reports.

The idea of shareDOWNTOWN – small, affordable apartments conveniently located within a busy employment area – is to give workers a local place to live within easy walking distance of their jobs, according to Cherry.

“This area has a diverse group of restaurants and bars, and this will be the first larger project — the largest project in the area,” he said in a statement. “It will be a place where people who work in the bar, work in the restaurants, the hair salon, the galleries can actually live. They can walk to work. It will help move the needle significantly in the neighborhood.”

The apartment complex, which will be three-four stories in height, will feature over 60-one bedroom units aimed at people who work at the many bars, clubs, restaurants and retail establishments that are in the area. The apartments are slated to be small, just 480 square-feet in size, with a projected rent ranging from $1,100 to $1,300 per month, reports note.

Cherry Developments noted that shareDOWNTOWN is slated to be the first in a series of apartment complexes located in the Las Vegas downtown region that target the people who work locally in an attempt to provide quality housing and promote job growth.

Overall plans for the shareDOWNTOWN project, including the approximate start date for construction and proposed amenities, are due to be revealed soon; once started, the development is expected to be finished by in May of 2020.

Developer Sam Cherry was previously known for construction of high-rise complexes prior to the mid-2000’s burst of the housing bubble in Las Vegas;  shareDOWNTOWN represents the first development project he has worked on since that period.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.